


The Letters

by SaltyPidge



Category: DCU
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Anxiety, M/M, Military
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-22
Updated: 2020-03-22
Packaged: 2021-03-01 02:53:20
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 865
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23257969
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SaltyPidge/pseuds/SaltyPidge
Summary: Forty-nine letters. One for every week. It should have been fifty, Tim should have received his fiftieth letter. But it remained forty-nine.
Relationships: Tim Drake/Jason Todd
Comments: 1
Kudos: 100





	The Letters

**Author's Note:**

> Hello and thank you for reading this fic. It might seem a little abstract and out there, but I wanted to write a Jason in the military and Tim being a concerned boyfriend. I read fanfciton myself so I guarantee that all my works will be completed and finished when you read them. I also do take requests, so if you have any ideas you want to see become a reality feel free to leave it in the comments below. I take pride in all my works, but if you recognize anything that can be improved, also feel free to comment that down below. and if you want to read a fic that includes all fifty-five letters Jason wrote, so if you'd want to read that please comment down below. Once again thank you for taking time out of your day to ready this and have a wonderful morning, afternoon, and/or evening.

Every week Tim would get a letter. Sometimes they’d be pages long, and other times barely a paragraph. 

No matter what. Jason always wrote Tim a letter, and on lucky weeks he’d get a picture. 

Jason, almost a year ago, got drafted for the military, it was a crazy thing that no one had expected. Of course Jason’s civilian identity got drafted, so in less then two months Jason was trained and sent off to a war that they all knew he could handle, but still...it was war and war was unpredictable. 

However, Jason knew how to get him to relax, so every week he promised he’d send him a letter. 

And Tim had gathered a collection of forty-nine letters. With Jason sending him one every week. Just like he’d promised. 

Until one week he didn’t.

Tim remembered how he spent the entire Saturday waiting for a letter to arrive. And he remembered how hard he cried when no letter came. Sunday marking the first week in Jason’s deployment in which a letter did not arrive. 

When he told Dick, his older brother had wrapped him in a hug, telling him that everything would be okay. They watched movies and Dick let Tim talk. Listened to his ramblings as he expressed his concerns and doubts about everything. 

He never told Damian, but he suspected the nicer attitude of his younger ‘brother’ heavily hinted towards the fact that Dick had told him, and for once in his fairly short life Damian was showing kindness. 

Another week went by, and he waited. Waited for the much anticipated envelope containing an explanation and proof that Jason was alive. 

It never came. 

And then he truly began to worry, what if Jason was lost? Dead? What if he found someone overseas and decided that they were better then him? What if he no longer cared?

He poured through the letters, trying to search for any change in Jason’s language, but when he found nothing he grew confused. So he re-read the letters, expecting to find clues only to find tears. He wept over the pieces of paper, he sobbed as his anxiety gripped him like a vice and refused to let go. 

His change in demeanor didn’t happen right away. But soon he became irritable, hostile, he snapped at anyone when they did something wrong. And no one blamed him. They would nod and say they would do better. 

The Team tried to be understanding. Some of the teenagers knew what he was going through, sympathizing with him, and Black Canary insisted he take her up on one of her therapy sessions. Which he promptly refused. 

Another week came and went, and once again Tim cried when no letter arrived. 

This time he became tired, started losing sleep. His nightmares are plagued with dreams of Jason and the hundreds of dangerous scenarios that could have happened to him that he’d have no control over. 

Week four, five, six, came by. And Tim gave up. He stopped hoping for the letters. Accepting that if he hadn’t received notification of Jason's passing. He had just moved on. 

He moved through life like a zombie now, trying to get back on his feet. Dick took him out more, Damian cut back almost all quips, Bruce stopped demanding late nights of work. And everyone seemed to be setting up cushions for when the fall would eventually happen. 

Week seven rolled around. Why Tim was keeping count he had no idea.

He was on the mountain going over files. Talking to Kaldur about recent villains and strategies. He was off in his world, there but not there. He heard the chatter of everyone around him, and when the Beta tube went off he paid no mind to it. What he did find odd was when a silence fell over the room. Kaldur nudged him and he followed the direction of the older hero’s gaze. 

His heart stopped. His eyes burned and his throat closed.

Jason stood there with all the hurt in the world on his face. 

“I’m so sorry I-”

He slammed into him with a hug. He didn’t care if Jason was with someone else, he didn’t care if Jason fell out of love with him, he didn’t care. He didn’t. But Jason was alive. And that in all honesty was the only thing that mattered. Jason hugged him back tight. And he could feel when the older man hugging him began to shake, and he became very much aware of the moisture running down his own face. 

He pulled away from the hug for a moment, “why d-didn’t you-”

“The mail trucks kept getting intercepted-I no one could reach their families. Electricity was cut...we were completely cut off. I’m so sorry. I-god I must have caused you so much anxiety. I’m sorry.” 

He shook his head, unable to prevent that watery smile from splitting his face.  
“You’re here not and that’s all that matters okay?” 

Jason nodded and hugged him again, tighter, “okay.” 

Tim exhale a breath it seemed like he’d been holding forever.

“You’re home.” 

Jason nodded into his shoulder, “I’m home...I love you.” 

“Love you too.”


End file.
